Moving a big collection sucks, but I made it!

[phaxda]

So a few people know that I have moved from the Boston area to the Bay area of California. East Bay, Oakland, to be exact. The whole process took a long time and I never realized how big my classic game collection was until I tried to move it! Many, many, many boxes. We hired part of an 18-wheeler and most of it went on the truck, but I took a small box with all the really rare stuff in the car. Just started unpacking yesterday and so far everything is in good shape with no breakage (some wine glasses weren't so lucky, but that's what happens). I was most worried about the Vectrex because it didn't power up, but it turns out that a light switch controls the power outlet I had plugged it into. Whew!

 

My new game room/office has a closet that I am going to put everything into--including the TV--so I can just close the door and not be tempted by games when I am trying to work. I am seriously thinking about picking up one of those console sets that everyone is always giving away because the closet is huge so there's so room in there for a big TV. Plus I have always wanted one for the total 70s experience.

 

I already found a game store in Alameda, which is just south of here and not a bad bike ride away. Pretty cool, seems nice. The Bay Area in general is great. The weather is way better and the one thing that I truly appreciate is that you can get BEER everywhere. Boston is such a puritan town--there are lots of places that are just casual lunch type deals or whatever that are good, but so many of them do not offer beer or wine. Here you can get a beer anywhere. I guess this makes me sounds a little alkie-ish, but the truth is just that I like good beer and good food together.

 

Anyway, I have finally started breaking some boxes open, and my girlfriend took a couple of pictures. I wish she had gotten a wider-angle view--the stack of boxes is impressive. Here's me "testing" the Vectrex; I hooked it up before getting the lighting right, obviously:

 

 

Anyone in the area, give me a shout. Especially if you have a truck or a van--I need to move a huge desk tomorrow.

[Lord Thag]

Just moved my gameroom as well. It was WAY more work than I thought! It took an entire weekend, but the new setup is much better. Loads of room for people to come over and play now, and I plan to have a competition soon.

 

And yeah, the bay area is great. Got a friend who lives down there, and I try to visit often. The food is great. Since you like beer, check out some of the N Cal microbrew stuff. Lost Coast makes some good ales. Try a Great White sometime.

 

As to game stuff, I'm not sure. If you want to drive to the Sacremento area, there is a huge flea market in Roseville called Denaio's (sp) that has lots of old game stuff. Well worth the trip.

[shadow460]

I had to keep a very close eye on my game collection when I moved it the last time. As I was loading it into my truck, the neighborhood kids couldn't keep their eyes off of it.

It has doubled in size since then, and I get to move it again in a couple of months. Yippee.

[phaxda]

I don't know about doubling in size, but my new gaming space is shaping up nicely. I'm going to put everything in a closet, so I can close the doors when I have work to do, etc. Luckily, it's a large closet and I was fortunate enough to acquire an IKEA entertainment center and TV from craigslist for the grand total of 15 bucks. As you can see from the pictures, it fits perfectly in the closet (there is NO wiggle room), but I had to take it apart to get it in there and then apply plenty of strong wood glue. The closet is 42" across and plenty deep, so I definitely have some room to play with. I am not sure the whole collection will fit, but it should be pretty close!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just moved my gameroom as well. It was WAY more work than I thought! It took an entire weekend, but the new setup is much better. Loads of room for people to come over and play now, and I plan to have a competition soon.

 

And yeah, the bay area is great. Got a friend who lives down there, and I try to visit often. The food is great. Since you like beer, check out some of the N Cal microbrew stuff. Lost Coast makes some good ales. Try a Great White sometime.

 

As to game stuff, I'm not sure. If you want to drive to the Sacremento area, there is a huge flea market in Roseville called Denaio's (sp) that has lots of old game stuff. Well worth the trip.

[godslabrat]

Oh, crap, I remember all that. I just made the big move from PA to Ok, and the move would have been MUCH simpler had I not been hauling my whole collection. But... the reward of setting everything up in my new apartment and starting to design my dream game room made it all worthwhile.

 

Hang in there. Moving sucks, but there's a reward in the end.

 

The fruits of my labor

Edited August 15, 2007 by godslabrat

[shadow460]

Oh, crap, I remember all that. I just made the big move from PA to Ok, and the move would have been MUCH simpler had I not been hauling my whole collection. But... the reward of setting everything up in my new apartment and starting to design my dream game room made it all worthwhile.

 

Hang in there. Moving sucks, but there's a reward in the end.

 

The fruits of my labor

 

Just curious, where'd ya wind up in town? I'm on the south edge of Windsor Hills, about half a mile east of Bethany on 23rd street.

[godslabrat]

I'm on the south side, just a few blocks down from I-240.